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October 3, 2008

ALDS 2: Red Sox 7, Angels 5

Wow. After Chone Figgins tripled off Justin Masterson to begin the bottom of the eighth and scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly off Jonathan Papelbon, Boston stormed back against Francisco Rodriguez in the top of the ninth.

David Ortiz pounded Frod's first pitch to deep right. Reggie Willits leapt at the wall, the ball hit in, and then fell out of, his glove, and Flo had a stand-up double. Coco Crisp went in to run before Kevin Youkilis grounded to third. With J.D. Drew at the plate, Frod tried to pick Crisp off second. His throw to Willie Aybar was in plenty of time, but Aybar neglected to tag the Crisp and Ococ slid back in between the shortstop's legs. Drew swung and missed on two pitches and worked the count to 2-2 before crushing a home run just to the right of dead center.

It broke the tie and gave the Red Sox a 7-5 lead. Frod continued to melt down, allowing an infield hit to Jason Bay and a line drive single to Mark Kotsay. Jason Varitek hit into a double play to end the inning.

Bot had come in after Figgins's triple and had retired three straight Angels in the eighth on only seven pitches. Torii Hunter began LA's last gasp with a hard bunt towards third. Youkilis sprinted in, bare-handed the ball and fired to first. One out. Pinch-hitter Gary Matthews popped a full count pitch towards the third base camera pit. Yook ran over, timed his leap, and snared the ball over the heads of the crouching photogs. Then Bot whiffed Howie Kendrick to give Boston a 2-0 lead in the series.

The ninth-inning dugout TBS shots told you everything you needed to know about this series. The Angels were in shock, staring out at the field with glassy, dead eyes. As Frod struggled to get outs in the ninth, they knew they were playing their last home game of the 2008 season. As the Red Sox rolled to their 11th straight post-season win over the Angels, they knew they were finished. (And WTF was with the announcing team of Chip Caray and Buck Martinez? Were they auditioning for jobs as LAA's Hawk Harrelson-type announcers? I watched the last 3-4 innings on mute.)

The game looked initially like a rout, as the Sox scored four times in the first. But the Angels chipped away, scoring one in the bottom of the first, on three straight singles from Mark Teixeira, Vladimir Guerrero and Hunter. Boston made it 5-1 on back-to-back doubles by Alex Cora and Jacoby Ellsbury, but the Angels got that run right back. Juan Rivera walked to start the fourth and scored on Chone Figgins's singled to left.

Matsuzaka walked Teixeira and Vlad to begin the fifth and Hunter singled home Tex. After that, Dice bore down, striking out Rivera, getting Kendrick on a fly to center, and retiring Kendry Morales on a pop to third. But that was the night for Dice (5-8-3-3-5), who threw 108 pitches in five innings, including 61 (!) in his final two innings.

Hideki Okajima pitched a perfect sixth, but allowed hits to Teixeira and Guerrero to begin the seventh. At that point, those two guys were 8-for-8 in reaching base. Masterson came in and got three outs, but not before walking two more Angels (the first on a blown call by the home plate umpire) and forcing in LA's fourth run.

The Red Sox wasted a golden scoring chance in the sixth. With one out, Kotsay reached on Hunter's error on a fly ball right at him in center. Varitek singled, chasing Santana, and Jose Arredondo walked Cora to load the bases. Ellsbury fanned on a slider in the dirt and Dustin Pedroia (0-for-5) grounded to second. Boston also could do nothing with a couple of two-out singles from Drew and Bay in the seventh.

But in the end, Boston dined out on monkey burgers. They get to enjoy another off day on Saturday before getting back to some broom work on Sunday.***

Mike Lowell calls Game 2 "a monster game for them and a tremendous opportunity for us".

The Angels are facing the possibility of heading back to Boston down 0-2. The worst case scenario for the Red Sox has them tied 1-1 with Josh Beckett set to pitch on Sunday night.

Yesterday, Beckett had what Terry Francona called "a pretty aggressive side [session] ... Nothing was cut short. His fastball had some finish to it and he threw all his pitches." Depending on who you asked, he threw either 65 pitches (John Farrell) or 67 (Francona).

[T]he extension that he was able to get with his fastball, the down-and-away area to a righthanded hitter, which is always going to indicate the furthest extension from the throwing arm [was good]. There was no discomfort in the oblique. So provided that there's no concerns coming out of his exam, or a follow-up exam tomorrow, he should be on line for Sunday.

Lowell probably will not be in the lineup tonight. Francona may rest Lowell and play Mark Kotsay (7-for-18 against Santana) at first, moving Kevin Youkilis to third. (More on Yook's great play late in Game 1.)

A Boston victory tonight would set a franchise record of nine consecutive postseason victories. The MLB record is 12, set twice by the Yankees. ... In the eight wins so far, the pitching staff has a 1.88 ERA. ... A win tonight would also set a major league record for consecutive playoff victories against a single opponent (11).

Yet again, an 8 o'clock show is going to keep me from watching this game. I'm missing all the fun this week! I especially wanted to see the Vice Presidential debate last night, though it turns out not to have been as funny as I'd hoped, according to what I've heard. Fortunately we only have a matinee on Sunday and then the show closes, so this will be the last playoff game I have to miss. (I think...)

Much like Shitforbrains in 2000, who was praised for showing up sober and not drooling all over himself, the librul media is saying Mooselini "exceeded expectations".

Some people think Palin "won" the debate because she wasn't terrible. That's like saying a baseball team is a good team if they play .500 ball when people thought they'd be 20 games under. No, you're still merely a .500 team.

That's my beef with it. I recognize that the economy does need help, and needs to be revived - but the blatant disregard for ANY SORT OF SANE ECONOMIC THOUGHT that led to this massive bailout is what pisses me off. These people are all fucked.

The economy wouldn't need nearly as much help if it weren't for all the deregulation that caused the meltdown. But instead of fixing the cause, we'll just have the public bailout out the corporations. Seriously fucked up.

We better hope that Harper never gets a majority, or we could well see the same thing happen here.

... wherein Palin cannot name a single magazine or newspaper that she has read for the last several years:

Couric: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this — to stay informed and to understand the world?

Palin: I've read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media —

Couric: But what ones specifically? I'm curious.

Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.

She would have to pay out of pocket for care. That would still be much, much less than in the US, b/c costs are regulated. But she couldn't get a health care card and use the "free" (publically financed) system.

I can't hate on her, I don't know why I just can't .....To watch her have to hang with McCain and Battle Obama and O'Biden, I think she actually called him that last night.....Career Seanators at least 2 of them, millionaires , out of touch talk boxes, I find her different....

one isolated debate comment. I liked this quote from Ezra Klein from before the debate:

If everyone expects Sarah Palin to do better than expected, and she does, did she still do better than expected? Even though everyone expected her to exceed expectations? In which case, isn't that doing as expected?

I'm down with the no-politics rule...this has been a very productive afternoon at work for me...JoS, RedSox.com, Facebook etc...man, why am I getting paid.

It's almost 5 on a Friday tho - w00t! Time to get my ass out of here, make a stop at the SuperStore, pick up a rotisserie chicken and pack of swiss chalet dipping sauce (that's right L!) and look at the clothes (yes a grocery store with clothes - $5 polos, how can you beat that!), some beers, some wine and settle in for a cozy night with...CRAIG SAGER OOOOOOOOO

No, unfortunately I missed it - was feeling sick as hell, so was busy making a soup and stuff. Only get Canadian TV upstairs so had the ball games on in the background...I didn't know it was a roundtable, I would've loved to see it. Hoping to catch the next one tho.

My problem with the NDP isn't their principles - they just don't have a plan to pay for any of it. We're still paying for the one time they had a majority here in Ontario.

It does sound a lot like the democratic party here. New programs, new initiatives, etc., it's got to come from somewhere.

L, I loved your summation of the Canadian government as being part North American-part European.

Liberal is the centre here. We support a party left of Liberal. And they are an actual viable party, with seats and influence on government. Go figure.

Hell, I'd say that our Conservatives are centric in relation to the US system.

I truly find that fascinating. I sit around down here thinking about how there are Republican principles I agree with and others I don't, and the same going with Democratic principles. Without knowing where particular Canadian parties stand on particular issues, it feels to me that it'd be easier to agree with one party there a lot more than I do here.

this has been a very productive afternoon at work for me...JoS, RedSox.com, Facebook etc...man, why am I getting paid.

Sounds like Allan's job.

I just came back from 3 days of camping in the Smoky Mountains (that's why I wasn't in Thursday's thread), all while on the clock. I love September-October: the parks only open weekends, but the paycheck stays the same. Only 3/7ths of the regular work!

Ofer... Might have said this before, but you really seem to have a very enviable job. Being able to take quite a large tour of the country as part of your job. It sounds amazing. I hope it helps balance out the actual work.

I've seen northwestern Virginia, which is still quite a ways northeast of the Smokey Mountains, and NW Virginia was very pretty!

Interstate 81 from Scranton, PA to Winchester, VA is such a beautiful drive. And Winchester is only in the very NW part of the state. Love to drive the rest of 81 sometime, then head east toward the Smokeys.

I have always wanted to see that part of the US, but have not been able to get there yet. I am way envious.

If you ever get to the area, don't miss Asheville. Great small mountain city, lots of alternative people (for lack of a better term...), organic farms, micro-breweries... my kind of place. First town in the US where I felt at home.The Smokey Mountains... it was a great trip, and the mountains are beautiful (despite all the air pollution) but Patagonia is too fresh in my mind. I tried not to compare, but my brain wouldn't shut up about it. And I must say, Patagonia wins handily.Oh, and the first thing I did when I got back to the car? Checked JoS. Once I saw that first sentence by Lowell, I knew the Sox had won.

all while on the clock

Now that is a job.

Global paycheck- it's the Israeli Army way of thinking. You have a salary and a job, and as long as you do your job, they don't care how many hours it took you.

Ofer... Might have said this before, but you really seem to have a very enviable job. Being able to take quite a large tour of the country as part of your job. It sounds amazing. I hope it helps balance out the actual work.

Balance is the key word... 6.5 days a week in July and August, then 3 in Sept-Oct, then 13-14 hours of physical work and inventory and table writing in Nov-Dec. But I like it, no doubt. I consider myself pretty lucky for falling into it almost by mistake.

Wouldn't Patagonia compare more to the Rockies, or the Grand Tetons, in the western US? Many of your photos reminded me of "out west".

Asheville sounds terrific.

I think Patagonia would compare with both. And if you add Mendoza, San Juan and Salta, you could probably compare them to every single mountain in the world, it's so diverse. Patagonia starts with huge glaciar fields in the south, goes through lush forests with amazing quantities of water in the centre, to volcanoes and deserts in the north...

Fuck, I wanna go back to backpacking. Just the feeling of the pack on my back this weekend made me happy.

I'm currently looking out my window, and for the first time this season, I can see this amazing orange, warm light - RED sunlight on a large oak tree in my front yard. It is truly breathtaking. All summer the sun was in the wrong part of the sky to shine on this tree.

Ofer, that sounds amazing. Would it be a great place to visit if you weren't backpacking/camping? We travel independently and off the beaten track, but we don't camp. Could you still experience a lot of it?

I visited Asheville briefly, and I agree--seemed cool. I remember a good record store, too (actual records).

But my last memory of the town is from reading about that Sox fan who quit his job to hike the App. Trail. I remember him stepping out of the woods and into Asheville to stay at a hotel. (Which he did quite a bit considering he was supposed to be "hiking." Did I first hear about that at JoS? I think so.)

"Hopefully he did just did what he wanted and didn't worry about what we thought."

You don't post your adventures online to be anonymous. But I guess you're right, hiking could mean whatever you want it to mean. I could "hike" ten feet a day around the yard of my mansion, sleeping in my bed at night and playing video games the rest of the time, and after 20 years, claim I'm an "outdoorsman" who's "hiked" over miles of terrain.

Ofer, that sounds amazing. Would it be a great place to visit if you weren't backpacking/camping? We travel independently and off the beaten track, but we don't camp. Could you still experience a lot of it?

Hmmm... A lot of what I did is impossible without walking a good distance. There's a whole lot you can do, though... in most places there are more expensive options that don't involve walking (biking, horseback riding, tour buses, sailing), and even though you can't get everywhere (e.g. the crater of the volcano), you'll see a lot.

But I guess you're right, hiking could mean whatever you want it to mean. I could "hike" ten feet a day around the yard of my mansion, sleeping in my bed at night and playing video games the rest of the time, and after 20 years, claim I'm an "outdoorsman" who's "hiked" over miles of terrain.

Reminds me of the heated debates about what constitutes "trekking" and what doesn't.

-Josh Beckett will start Game 3 without question. “He’s pitching,” Francona said. Francona was extremely satisfied with Beckett’s 67-pitch side session in the bullpen yesterday. While watching him yesterday from a distance, he liked Beckett’s body language and could hear the catcher’s mitt pop.

“That ball was loud,” Francona said.

Afterward, John Farrell told Francona, “This is not a guy that’s hurt.”

This was the plan all along. The Red Sox, Francona said, could have tried to pitch Beckett tonight. But they wanted to give him a full week of normal preparation so he could go into the game with his best stuff. That’s exactly what happened, Francona said.

Ish, you really do sound just like me in that. Now at my age I feel like I am running out of time to see all the places I want to. May seem silly, as I'm not under 50 (for a little while!) but time is rushing by and it's a long list.

-Francona had an inkling he would start Alex Cora over Jed Lowrie tonight even before the series began. Francona preferred Cora over Lowrie even before he knew their stats against Ervin Santana. He felt Cora matched up better against the style of pitching employed by Santana than Lowrie. When Francona looked at the numbers that Cora is 2 for 3 against Santana with a double and a triple, it simply heightened his comfort with the move.

I spent the afternoon trying to kill yellow jackets that invaded our house. We finally got an exterminator, who found a nest in my ceiling of my closet where they had eaten through the sheetrock. Scary as hell.

A, I will do what I can, but prepare yourself that the tape may not get everything.

Ish, we have a whole bunch of US stations on our cable pkg, so we might have TNT & TBS even w/o Rogers. Plus Rogers SportsNet has a west and central broadcast, they could use one of those stations. So I'm hopeful. :)